A system and corresponding method for organ rendering are provided, where the system includes a processor, an imaging adapter in signal communication with the processor for receiving organ scan data indicative of an organ, a segmentation unit in signal communication with the processor for segmenting an outer surface of the organ, and a ray-casting unit in signal communication with the processor for providing a maximum intensity projection substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays, and for forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective projection to the segmented outer surface; and where the method includes segmenting an outer surface of an organ, providing a maximum intensity projection substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays, and forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective projection to the segmented outer surface.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method of organ rendering comprising: segmenting an outer surface of an organ; providing a maximum intensity projection (MIP) substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays; and forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective MIP to the segmented outer surface.
2. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising unfolding a three-dimensional (3D) model of the organ into a two-dimensional (2D) image in correspondence with the substantially normal MIPs.
3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein: the organ is a heart; and the substantially normal MIPs are indicative of features comprising coronary blood vessels.
4. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising receiving preliminary organ scan data.
5. A method as defined in claim 2 wherein the 3D model is fixed.
6. A method as defined in claim 2 wherein the 3D model is selected from the group of 3D shapes consisting of a sphere, a cylinder and an ellipsoid.
7. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein casting rays comprises applying a maximum intensity projection filter to at least one ray.
8. An apparatus for organ rendering comprising: segmenting means for segmenting an outer surface of an organ; projecting means for providing a maximum intensity projection (MIP) substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays; and collecting means for forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective MIP to the segmented outer surface.
9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 , further comprising scanning means for receiving organ scan data.
10. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 , further comprising display means for displaying organ scan data.
11. A system for organ rendering, comprising: a processor; an imaging adapter in signal communication with the processor for receiving organ scan data indicative of an organ; a segmentation unit in signal communication with the processor for segmenting an outer surface of the organ; and a ray-casting unit in signal communication with the processor for providing a maximum intensity projection (MIP) substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays, and for forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective MIP to the segmented outer surface.
12. A system as defined in claim 11 wherein the processor renders the organ scan data as a three-dimensional (3D) image about a region of interest.
13. A system as defined in claim 12 , further comprising a display adapter in signal communication with the processor for displaying the rendered 3D image.
14. A system as defined in claim 13 , further comprising a user interface adapter for checking the scan quality.
15. A system as defined in claim 11 wherein the processor provides a profile for each ray and recognizes known patterns.
16. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform program steps for organ rendering, the program steps comprising: segmenting an outer surface of an organ; providing a maximum intensity projection (MIP) substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays; and forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective MIP to the segmented outer surface.
17. A device as defined in claim 16 , the program steps further comprising unfolding a three-dimensional (3D ) model of the organ into a two-dimensional (2D ) image in correspondence with the substantially normal MIPs.
18. A device as defined in claim 16 wherein: the organ is a heart; and the substantially normal MIPs are indicative of features comprising coronary blood vessels.
19. A device as defined in claim 16 wherein the program step of casting rays comprises applying a maximum intensity projection filter to at least one ray.
20. A device as defined in claim 16 , the program steps further comprising: providing a profile for each ray; and recognizing known patterns in each profile.
21. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the organ is a heart, the method further comprising: segmenting the outer surface of the heart in response to its thick myocardium muscle; fitting a geometrical object to the segmented outer surface in response to the maximum intensity projections; and rendering high-quality coronary arteries on the fitted geometrical object in response to the ray collection.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
November 1, 2004
June 19, 2007
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